Aircraft life enhancement is of prime importance in an era of reduced budgets. More and More emphasis is being placed on safely extending the life of existing aircraft and their subsystems. This proposal offers a concept to reduce the fatigue damage incurred on an aircraft by reducing the ground loads it is exposed to. Aircraft fatigue life is based in part on the number of ground-air-ground (GAG) cycles it is expected to endure during its life. Generally, the dynamic loads induced into the aircraft due to runway roughness are factored in as well. It is not uncommon for these dynamic loads to add another half a "g" to the ground part of the GAG cycle. Over time, this could accumulate significant fatigue damage to the aircraft's primary structure as well as subsystems such as the landing gear. Damage due to runway and taxiway roughness is amplified when the aircraft is heavy. These dynamic loads can be significantly reduced by simply increasing the landing gear strut precharge pressure. The purpose of this effort is to investigate the feasibility of modifying strut precharge pressure for aircraft life enhancement.
Keywords: Damage Loads Life Extension Fatigue Life Runway Roughness
